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USDA Pulling Inspectors From Poultry Plants To Save Money
Image source: cidrap.umn.edu
The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) wants to end most federal inspection of poultry in slaughterhouses and speed up the processing lines – an idea that will only harm America’s food safety.
That’s the conclusion of a number of food safety groups and Mother Jones magazine writer Tom Philpott after examining new USDA plans for poultry inspection.
The idea behind the plan is to greatly speed up production at corporate-owned slaughterhouses for chickens and turkeys. The plan would accomplish this by removing three out of four USDA inspectors from slaughterhouses which could speed up production by 25 percent. The USDA even says it would improve food safety – a claim with which many groups disagree.
Under the current system the inspectors watch the chicken and turkey carcasses being butchered for contamination and other problems. Under the new system slaughterhouse employees would watch most of the carcasses. The plant inspectors would be responsible for examining even more birds than current inspectors watch.
The US Government Accountability Office (GAO) said in September the USDA has not fully evaluated the pilot programs and that more studying needs to be done before the new rules are put in place. Food safety, GAO said, is at risk.
Source: http://www.offthegridnews.com/2013/11/02/usda-pulling-inspectors-from-poultry-plants-to-save-money/
